Chen Zhong
China's first Olympic taekwondo champion, twice over
- Born
- November 22, 1982, Jiaozuo, Henan, China
- Nationality
China- Height
- 183 cm (6′0″)
- Style
- Middleweight-sized heavyweight
- Weight
- 72 kg, +67 kg, +72 kg
- Active
- 1997–2008
- Status
- Retired · age 43
The medals
2 Olympic golds; 2007 world title, 4 world medals
The story
hen Zhong played basketball in Jiaozuo for four years before switching to taekwondo in 1995, when training meant more than 1,000 kicks a day. A natural middleweight, she moved up to heavyweight for taekwondo's Olympic debut in Sydney and beat Russia's Natalya Ivanova 8-3, winning China's first Olympic taekwondo gold at 17. In Athens she defended the title by beating France's Myriam Baverel 12-5, and in 2007 she won the world heavyweight title in Beijing. The favourite for a third gold at the 2008 home Games, she lost her quarter-final to Britain's Sarah Stevenson after a protest was upheld on video, the first time an Olympic taekwondo result had been changed. She had already said Beijing would be her last tournament.
- Olympic champion, +67 kg (2000, 2004)
- World champion, +72 kg (2007)
- World Cup champion (2001, 2002)
- Asian Games champion (2006)
- Torchbearer inside the stadium at the Beijing 2008 opening ceremony
Defining matches
- 2000WINvs Natalya Ivanova (Sydney Olympic +67 kg final, 8-3)
- 2001LOSSvs Sarah Stevenson (World Championships 72 kg final, Jeju, 7-10)
- 2004WINvs Myriam Baverel (Athens Olympic +67 kg final, 12-5)
- 2007WINvs Han Jin-sun (World Championships +72 kg final, Beijing, 6-4)
- 2008LOSSvs Sarah Stevenson (Beijing Olympic quarter-final, 1-2 after a British protest was upheld on video)
Kick a volleyball tossed into the air: it trains timing, balance and accuracy against a moving target, which is exactly what a head kick needs. Chen's programme asked for more than 1,000 kicks a day, so build volume with clean technique before adding power.
1966–1983
2002–2016